Last.



Patented June 26, I900.

(No Model.)

fizz e @1244 l Lg u'eJ OSCAR HEATH, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORTO XVILLIAM B. ARNOLD, OF ABINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 652,616, dated June 26,1900. Application filed May 4, 1897. Serial. No. 634,995. (No model) [0all whom it nmg concern-.-

Be it known that I, OSCAR HEATrLof Brockton, county of Plymouth, Stateof Massachusetts,ha've invented an Improvementin Lasts, of which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object the production of a novel last, onewhich may be easily applied to or taken from the shoe and which mayremain in the shoe throughout the entire manufacture, including theleveling.

The hinge uniting the parts of myimproved last is of peculiarconstruction, and it is inserted in a novel manner and occupies a novel,

position between the heel and fore part of the last, and the abuttingends of the heel and fore part are so shaped that one part overlaps theother part, thus giving to the last the property of withstanding a largeamount of strain without breaking down.

Figure 1, in side elevation, shows a last embodying my invention, thedotted lines showing the parts turned on the hinge-joint to shorten thelast. Fig. 2 is a section of the last in the position it will occupywhen in use in a machine and holding a shoe.

The object of my invention is to produce a transversely-divided lastwhich is better adapted to withstand heavy pressures than the lasts ofthis class heretofore made. It has sometimes happened in practice thatthe fore part and heel part were forced out of alinement by the greatpressures to which lasts of this class are subjected in the process ofmanufacturing machine-made shoes, and my invention contemplates theproduction of a strong and durable transversely-divided andpreferably-hinged last which is not liable to have its fore part andheel part forced out of alinement.

The last is composed of a fore part A and a heel part B, and they areunited together at a suitable distance from the bottom of the last by ahinge, preferably composed of two like folded sheet metal plates c c,notched at the ends Where the plates are folded, so that the projectingportions of the plates between the notches may be shaped to consti tutehinge-eyes, the projections of one half entering the notches of theother half and a pin 0 being inserted to complete the hinge. The forepart has an inclined abutment a, against which the wall I) of the heelpart may rest when the heel part is fully turned on the hinge to shortenthe last, as shown by dotted lines, the shoe when the last is shortened,as described, being left in such condition that by a straight pull onthe fore part of the shoe it may be easily drawn straightfrom the forepart.

The fore part of the last is provided at the end of the abutment'a witha shoulder a, on which, as herein shown, rests the joint part of thehinge, and from the end of said shoulder the fore part is cut, as shown,to the bottom of the last to present an inclined face o The heel part atthe end of the wall bis cut to' presenta shoulderb, the joint of thehinge lying between the said shoulders at and h',so that when pressureis applied to the bottom of the last, it being supported by a heel-pin,as d, of a standard, as cl, and the fore part resting on a suitabletoe-rest d the said overlapping shoulders acting on opposite sides ofthe hinge at the hingeeye effectually resist the vertical strain. Whenthe last is straightin a shoe and during the process of the manufacturethereof, the face a of the fore part and the opposite face 6 of theheel. part contact firmly together, and the force of said contactincreases with the pressure. The hinge parts are inserted into suitableslots made in the fore part and the heel part, as fully shown in thedrawings, and these slots are made substantially as continuations ofsaid shoulders 05 Z), and when the last is in the position for use (seeFig. 2) the shoulder 12' lies directly on and overlaps the shoulder a,and it will be noticed that one half of the hinge occupies a differentposition in a horizontal plane from the other half. 7

I do not intend to restrict my invention in all respects to the kind ofhinge shown, although this hinge forms a feature of certain of myclaims, nor do I intend to limit myself in all respects to a hinge, asit will be noted that I make certain claims to the lines of out alone,

I regard the lines of cut, taken broadly, as an important feature ofinvention, and I therefore claimtheni as such. It-will beunderstood thatI have herein shown and described as my preferable construction the lastmade for'withstanding the hardest service; but it will also beunderstood that lasts are used in many situations where such strength isnot required and. that accord ingly various features of my invention areof value separately as improvements in and of themselves, capable ofemployment in subordinate and other capacities known to last users.

It will be understood that my invention is applicable to any usualshape, style, or kind of last, and for clearness and definiteness ofunderstanding, however, of my invention .1

the hinge-eye and pintle have been largely required to withstand alone.By this construction it becomes practically impossible to force thefore-part bottom out of alinement with the heel-part bottom by verticalpres-' sure, as the thrust or strain which has heretofore tended tobreak, twist, or distort the hinge is transmitted directly to the heelpart by means of the overlapping shoulders.

My invention is an improvement on or one 'specificmea'ns of carrying outthe invention guished therefrom, among other respects, in

of are united by a hinge, said parts having the followingparticular,that whereassaid patented construction while disclosing,broadly, the idea of so cutting the heel part from the forepart that thewood of the heel part would sustain a portion of the downward verticalthrust or'pressure on the last when in use the particular line of cutshown in said patent would result in a more or'less sliding tendency andwould therefore require that the partsof the last (if used in leveling,for instance) should be connected by some sort of a joint or hinge forpreventing this sliding tendency, I whereas I provid'e'a construction inwhich 1' there is no sliding tendency, but all the ver- 5 tical pressureis directly borne by the heel part. It will also be understood that lhave shown a hinge and have shown the particular angular cut at thecrown of the last and the straight line or cut at to extending obliquelyforward to the bottom of the last merelyas ;showing my invention appliedto one conven tional kindof last commonly in use on the "market; but Iwish to make clear that my invention is applicable to any and all kindsof divided lasts.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters at- Ient, is g I 1. In a divided last, a fore part having anabutment and a projecting shoulder at its end, combined with aheel parthaving a wall extending at an angle away from said abut= ment when thelast isin-eXt-ended position, with a shoulder at the end of said wall,the said shoulders being shaped to'ove'rlap one the other in the samevertical plane, substantially as described.

2. A last divided transversely by lines of cut forming at the top of thelast-a gap or open space permitting the heel part to'turn up on the forepart with a swinging movement about the bottom of said gap forshortening the last, the parts at opposite sides the line of divisionpresenting horizontally-oven lapping shoulders, whereby one may bevertically supported by the other when the last is in use, substantiallyas described. I

3. The combina-tionyin a transversely-divided hinged last, of a hingehaving an ey'e with opposed hinge-eye-bearing shoulders, one on the forepart on one sideof said eye, and the other on the heel part on theo'ther side of said eye, substantially as described.-

i. A-multipartlast-whereinthe partstherethe leaves of thehingeembedded'within them up to the pintle thereof on opposite sidesthereof, and said leaves, viewing the edge of tended position, being outof alinement sub stantially as described;

{name-to this specification in the presence of L two subscribingwitnesses; OSCAR- Witnesses: I

GEO; W. GREGORY,

A'nmn F. DANIELS".

; the hinge at the side of the" last when in ex In testimony whereof Ihave signed my

